Feelings
1287 Words
Knock. Knock.
Irene bounced lightly on the balls of her feet as she waited at Levi's front door, her heart thumping with a mix of nervousness and excitement. From inside, she heard the unmistakable thudding of tiny feet—running, stomping, probably jumping on something they shouldn’t.
Her face broke into a wide grin.
Before she could knock again, the door flung open.
Levi stood there, eyes wide, arms outstretched. “Irene! You’re back!”
Irene laughed, practically jumping forward to hug her. “Girl! I’ve missed you like crazy.”
Levi pulled back with a smirk. “Missed me? You were gone for, what, two days? Please. Acting like you left for a whole year.”
“Two days too long,” Irene teased, brushing past her into the house. “Where are my babies?”
Levi shut the door behind her with a little dramatic click. “Mmm... I think you’ve got some serious begging to do first.”
“Begging?” Irene frowned, confused. “What do you mean?”
“They’re upstairs,” Levi said, walking ahead. “But brace yourself.”
Irene didn’t wait for more explanations. Her feet knew the way. She took the stairs two at a time, heart pounding—not from the climb but from the thought of seeing Ethan and Elias again.
The door to the guest room creaked open.
Inside, the boys were sprawled on the carpet, picture books and flashcards scattered everywhere. Their backs were to her. They were pointing at something, giggling softly.
“Ethan… Elias…” Irene’s voice wavered, just a little.
They turned.
Two small faces. Big eyes.
And then—nothing.
No “Mama!”
No running hug.
No smile.
They just stared. And then, in the way only children could deliver a message, they turned back to their game without a word.
Irene stood frozen, the sting immediate.
“Babies…” Her bag dropped with a dull thud beside her feet. She slowly sank to her knees on the floor. “Mama’s sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
No answer.
Only the flipping of another card, the quiet rustle of paper.
She sat there helplessly, watching her boys—her whole world—pretend like she wasn’t even in the room.
“I want you to go home with me,” she whispered. “I swear, I’m going to cry right now if you don’t talk to me.”
That’s when Elias turned. His lip quivered. “But Mama… you promised.”
Irene’s chest tightened. “I know.”
“You promised you'd come get us,” he went on, voice rising. “You said we'd get ice cream! You said we’d sleep in our own beds again!”
He burst into tears.
That was it.
Irene opened her arms. “Come here. Please.”
Elias ran to her, collapsing into her lap with a sob. She held him tight, kissing his head, whispering soft apologies over and over.
“I’m so sorry, baby. Mama didn’t want to leave you. I didn’t.”
She reached out to Ethan, who hesitated for a second, then crawled into her other side. She kissed both of them, held them close, as if trying to erase the gap of the past two days.
Elias pulled back slightly, sniffling. “Mama… I don’t want you to work no more.”
Her heart cracked again.
“Baby…”
“I don’t want you to work! You always say you're coming back, and then you don’t. You always promise.”
“I know,” she said, pressing her forehead to his. “But baby, if I don’t work, how will I pay for your school? Don’t you want to go to school?”
Elias nodded slowly. “I do… but I want you more.”
She held him tighter, silent tears running down her face.
It took a while, but eventually, the boys’ tiny arms relaxed around her. The tension started to melt. They didn’t push her away when she helped them clean up the cards. They even let her fix their shirts and kiss their cheeks again.
Later, Levi peeked into the room and smiled.
“Well,” she said, stepping in and sitting beside them, “what are you guys playing here?”
Ethan held up a flashcard. “It’s a matching game! We match the pictures with the words.”
Elias joined in excitedly. “See this one? It says ‘lion’ and it has a lion on it! Rawr!”
Levi pretended to roar, and the boys giggled. Irene just sat there, watching the little chaos unfold, her heart finally a little lighter.
**
The sun had long since set when Irene tucked the boys into bed, brushing their hair back and humming a soft lullaby. They held her hands until their eyes fluttered shut.
She kissed their foreheads.
“Goodnight, my loves.”
Downstairs, the smell of stew and spices greeted her. Levi was in the kitchen, stirring a pot, singing along to an old R&B track playing on her phone.
Irene grabbed a glass from the cupboard and poured herself some water. She took a long sip, then slid onto the couch with a soft sigh.
Levi didn’t waste time.
“So…” she said, turning around with a knowing smirk. “You left on your first day of work. With your boss. For two days. That better be a damn good story.”
Irene laughed, setting her glass down. “Girl, it’s not what you think.”
Levi narrowed her eyes. “Mmhm. Start talking.”
Irene flushed, cheeks warm with the memory of the hotel room, of Mr. Blackwood’s voice calling her name, of the tension she still didn’t know how to describe.
“It’s… weird,” she said, grinning shyly. “I don’t know how to explain it, Levi. There’s just… something about him. Like I’ve known him longer than I have.”
Levi turned off the stove, wiped her hands on a towel, and walked over. She plopped onto the couch beside Irene and gave her a look.
“Tell me nothing happened.”
“What could happen? He’s my boss.”
“Lies,” Levi said immediately. “Something happened. I know it. I can smell it on you.”
Irene groaned, covering her face. “Nothing happened, okay? Not really.”
“Not really?”
Irene looked at her, biting her lip. “There was… a moment.”
“A moment?”
“Yeah.” She shrugged helplessly. “He touched my hand. Just—innocent stuff. But it felt like… like more. Like… I don’t know. Like he saw me.”
Levi squealed. “Girl! I knew it! I knew it! You went on a work trip and came back blushing like a schoolgirl.”
Irene laughed, burying her face in a throw pillow. “Stop it!”
“I will not,” Levi said proudly. “So what now? Are we crushing on Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome?”
Irene peeked out from behind the pillow. “He’s just… nice. But also confusing. And moody. And sometimes sweet. Sometimes rude. But always…”
“Hot?”
“Yeah,” Irene admitted. “Dangerously.”
Levi clapped. “This is getting better than any K-drama I’ve ever watched.”
They both laughed, the sound filling the small living room.
For a moment, there was peace.
Just two friends, a kitchen full of food, and a house finally quiet upstairs.
Irene leaned her head back against the couch. Her boys were safe. She had a job. And somewhere out there, a very complicated, very handsome man might or might not be thinking about her too.
- Writer
